Nitro Z7 Bass Boat with a Bimini Top

Prior to adding a Bimini top to our Nitro Z7 bass boat I did as much research as I could, though there was very little to on. The pictures I did find were of pictures prior nitro models or some random forum comments on the pros and cons.

Left me tell you that my wife rides along and reads and sometimes even fishes with me and there are no cons, a happy wife means a happy me ok. I fish on the Colorado River near Yuma AZ and its hotter than hell in the summer.

Temps between 106 and 125 degrees are normal. The Bimini top pictured is from Sunbrella in dark charcoal grey (matches the dark carpet), it's 6 foot long and 46 inches high and is mounted to a 36" rail attached to the gunnels, we can slide it back and forth as needed. We purchased our top at Yuma Marine and installation was free.

The beauty of this setup with a rail mount is that we could fine tune the final mounting position to our exact specifications, as well as having the option to fold it down and out of the way or shade one area more than another. When in the down position it lays all the way at the end of the rear deck, but just short of the engine control tube. You can open every compartment when it is down!

I would add that you can get a lower profile Bimini top that's 36" but you would have an extremely hard time walking between decks, I am not all that good at doing the limbo. The 46" height is perfect for our bass boat, I am 6 tall and its relatively easy to move from the front deck to the consoles etc. But the best part is that when its up it probably cuts the temp by at least 20 degrees and shades just about all of the passenger interior space for the better part of the day.

Drawbacks? Hmm I would have to say that you need to be aware that the canvas will stretch a little after use and you will need to readjust the tie down straps more than a few times. There is also the issue of boat speed, at 35 to 40 mph the Bimini top is pretty solid, but at higher speeds the wind pressure tends to push down on the top causing the straps to loosen.


 

And don't let people tell you that you cant catch fish if you have a Bimini top on your Nitro Z7 bass boat or any other bass boat for all that matters. When we have it up I can cast and flip from just about every square inch of the front deck while Peggy gets to enjoy the massive amount of shade that the top provides for the passenger area.

Sorry for the stressed out look in my fish picture, it was taken near the end of the day and air temps never went below 108 and humidity was high all day. But my point is that we caught quality fish like that all throughout the day and with a Bimini top in the up position on our Nitro Z7 bass boat.

 

FYI I know I usually wear a shirt from my company Wave Shoppe Hawaiian shirts but it was just too hot and humid, its often easier to change out a t-shirt every few hours than it is to let the sweat and scorching sun wreck one of beautiful Hawaiian shirts.

 

 

Fishing Safaris - Lower Colorado River, Martinez Lake Bass Fishing

Greetings,

My name is Charles and I welcome you to Fishing Safaris, a blog that is all about bass fishing with a sprinkling of a few other popular fish. Back in the early 80s I fished Red Man and Pro AM bass tournaments in the Midwest.

 

For our division I was usually ranked year end somewhere in the top 10, occasionally in the top 5. I fish lakes when I have to, but rivers are my forte and passion, its where I excel as a bass fisherman.

 

I also had a fishing guide business called Fishing Safaris, specializing in largemouth and smallmouth bass. I was, and still am a river rat and my home waters were from pool 13 to 19 in the Mississippi river.

 

I sold my Champion tournament boat in the early 90s and have not had another boat up until a month ago.

 

While I do not have intentions of rejoining the tournament circuits, I do have a desire to blog about my adventures with my new boat, a 2013 Nitro Z-7 with a Mercury Fourstroke. I have a vacation home on the lower Colorado River and nowadays I do the vast majority of my bass fishing right there.

 

But to get the ball rolling, I think my next post should entail all of the past (and ongoing) drama I went through during the purchase and delivery phase, as well as a follow-up to that post. Which will be a brutally honest review of the 2013 Nitro Z-7 with a Mercury Fourstroke.

 

But my review is not going to be anything like the regurgitated stuff that’s already on the web, mine is going to be the real deal,  wrote from a true fisherman’s perspective (from the mouth of a river rat)and not something gleamed and redistributed from a factory press release. I plan on posting pictures of the nasty stuff, as well as listing how Outdoor World (a.k.a. Bass Pro Shops) Nitro Boats has handled the whole ordeal so far.

 

Lastly you may see that I wear a lot of Hawaiian shirts in my pictures, its because I own a company called Wave Shoppe, we design and manufacture those styles of shirts, its only fitting that I wear them while fishing. I really have no desire to look like one of those sponsored fisherman with the NASCAR look going on. So welcome aboard and feel free to ask bass boat or fishing related questions, I will do my best to answer them.

Charles